Verstappen also won the season finale in Abu Dhabi

2023-11-26 14:53:00

In the showdown for second place in the constructors’ championship at the Yas Marina Circuit, Mercedes beat Ferrari by three points.

The Mexican Sergio Perez crossed the finish line in second place in the second Red Bull, but ended up fourth because of a five-second penalty. Red Bull had a year for the history books with 21 successes in 22 races, only Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz prevented the Austro-British racing team from having a perfect season with a victory in Singapore. With his 54th Grand Prix victory, Verstappen also surpassed Sebastian Vettel (53) in the all-time best list, making the 26-year-old triple champion sole third. Only Lewis Hamilton (103) and Michael Schumacher (91) made it to the top podium more often in the premier motorsport class.

After the winter break, the F1 circus continues with the season opener in Bahrain on March 2nd. A record calendar with a total of 24 races awaits, the Austrian Grand Prix in Spielberg is planned for June 30th. There are currently no driver changes planned for the ten teams, only the Williams future of the American Logan Sargeant is still open.

More than 1,000 laps lead for Verstappen

Before the race, long-time AlphaTauri and ToroRosso team boss Franz Tost was ceremoniously farewelled by drivers, colleagues and FIA President Mohammed bin Sulayem as he enters his upcoming retirement. The 67-year-old Tyrolean has been in charge of the Red Bull sister team since 2006. The new team boss will be Frenchman Laurent Mekies, who most recently worked as sports director at Ferrari until the summer and will return to AlphaTauri next year.

Tost had every reason to be happy after the start of the race in Abu Dhabi; his protégé Yuki Tsunoda only defended his sixth place and even completed several laps in the lead due to a later pit stop. At the front, pole setter Verstappen and Leclerc got off to an equal start. The Monegasque attacked the World Cup dominator in three corners on the first lap, but without success. As has happened so often this season, Verstappen diligently collected the lead laps, followed by Leclerc and the McLaren duo Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri and Russell.

In the showdown for the constructors’ championship, Russell passed Piastri on the track, then the Brit was able to thank the McLaren crew for a slow pit stop at Norris. Behind him, Hamilton fought his way through the midfield, while Sainz, from 16th on the grid, spent large parts of the race outside the points and ultimately hoped in vain for a safety car. Verstappen recorded lead lap number 1,000 this season on lap 56 of 58, another milestone.

Since Perez received a five-second penalty after overtaking Norris too hard and also overtook Russell with three laps to go, the constructors’ showdown came to a head late. Leclerc resorted to a rare measure and let Perez past so that Russell would fall out of the five-second window, but that didn’t work.